Ulleria
Ulleria is a mid-sized, blueish green terrestrial Goldilocks world on the Prime Material Plane, whereupon much of the action in the Ulleria campaign setting takes place. Ulleria orbits a single yellow dwarf star named Arriana, and has two moons; Caretaker, the larger and brighter of the two, and Mara, which is smaller and glows in a faint dark purple. Natural Order Rotation and Orbit Ulleria has a circumference of about 38,000 km and is tilted with an obliquity of approximately 11.2 degrees, causing only minor variations in the experience of the seasons between its Northern and Southern hemispheres. It rotates upon its axis at a speed of 435 m/s at its widest point, completing one rotation once every 24 hours 16 minutes (the Ullerian day). It takes about 421.2 Ullerian days for the planette to make a full revolution around Arriana, presenting complications with a number of standardized calendars. Scholars from many cultures have proposed a number of solutions over the years to address the discrepancy with varying degrees of success. Tectonic Activity The planette itself has limited tectonic and volcanic activity, due in large part to the fact that land masses are not necessarily anchored to the crust but instead float atop what scholars call the Ocean Beneath the World. There are, however, volatile underwater pockets of volcanic material that can make certain portions of Ulleria's oceans unexpectedly treacherous. Surface and Climate Ulleria has two major contiguous land masses - the Western Continent and the Eastern Continent - along with a number of large islands and island chains and icy expanses at both poles. The planette's surface is roughly 61% water, with the oceans containing the vast majority. A vast array of climates and biomes exist on Ulleria's surface, from high desert, to ancient forest, to windswept tundra. Flora and Fauna The Ullerian environment provides for a vast variety of plant and animal life at all levels. While much of this life can be traced back through both natural and written record to native ancestors, there are many things throughout the world with unclear origins. With the influence of magic and other planes of existence it can be difficult to impossible to tell if something alien is extra-planar or merely extra-planettery, but that doesn't stop the learned folk from arguing about it incessantly. Ulleria has also experienced a number of major biological die-offs throughout its recorded history, much of which can be linked to the influence of Humanity and the spread of civilization. History The history of the world is broken up by Humans into 5 distinct periods; the ancient "pre-historic" era, and then the 4 ages of men. Ancient Pre-History A term used by human scholars to describe the untold eons that passed on the planette prior to the intervention of the human pantheon of gods and the creation of their race. Very little is known about this time - as for much of it there was no written record, nor truly anyone to write it - but it is believed that over a great period of time Ao, the great and mysterious over-god of the multiverse, slowly shaped and formed the twisting chaos of creation, creating the world and the surrounding stellar system and bringing forth order. From the blending of chaos and order he brought Nature into existence, and out of Nature slowly came plants, and then fish, animals, birds, and other living things. From the close proximity of the Prime Material Plane and the mysterious parallel plane called simply The Feywild the many varieties of Fey began to find their way into Ulleria, slipping often accidentally but pleasantly through little rifts and tears between their world and the Prime Material. The powerful and magnificent magical energy of Nature itself was strong in those days, and many creatures blended and re-blended together in new and fascinating ways. Over time, great pools of magic gathered together at key points throughout the world, and from those pools sprouted the great World Trees, focal points of Nature's power and beauty. It is from the blending of natural magic and fey magic in primal Ulleria that the Elves first came into being. Of all the intelligent races on Ulleria the Elves are the only ones who do not claim to have been created in an act of divine inspiration, but rather claim to be the product of Nature itself. According to legend the first Elves were immortal beings, fueling their indefinite lives through their Fey ancestry and deep connection to Nature, and as such they rarely felt the need to record the past, and any records they may have made were subsequently lost or destroyed over the course of the coming eras. As such it is impossible to say how long their race existed in this natural state. They did, however, build great kingdoms around the World Trees, and worshiped Nature itself in near utopian bliss. In addition to the Elves, the magic of Nature brought other great beasts and monsters into existence in this time, including many of the monsters slain by the heroes of old and, quite notably, the Dragons. Sometime within the last thousand years of this period the bursting, life-filled world and its deep magical potential - along with the growing Elven civilization and presence of powerful magical beasts - began to draw the attention of divine beings that dwelt in the Upper Planes. Many deities began staking claims on the world, seeing it as an opportunity to bring forth life and worshipers of their own design. The Dwarves came forth during this time, and the Gnomes followed close behind them. While these races were not immortal, they were longer-lived in those days, and many great matriarchs and patriarchs arose among them, each helping to set a foundation for their race and culture that persists even into the modern day. The First Age (by the Counting of Men) The First Age (also called the Age of Heroes) is by far the longest of the Human ages, lasting some 5,200 years between the creation of Humanity and the dawn of the 1st Empire. The age is technically considered to have begun when Andarr - the god of cities and law, and head of the Human pantheon - brought forth their race on the face of Ulleria, however it took some time for Human civilization to standardize a dating system and begin to keep count of the days and years, so any claim regarding the timing of humankind's creation is merely an estimation. Throughout the First Age Human civilization continued to spread and expand throughout the world. Beginning as small, nomadic communities struggling against the brutal impartiality of the natural world, humans eventually discovered agriculture, allowing them to gather together in the first cities and develop key civilizing ideals and technologies like the wheel, writing, mathematics, sanitation, irrigation, etc. etc. Great heroes arose among these early civilizations, blessed with great strength by the gods, and they began to slay the great monsters of old and solidify the strength of humanity. As a reward for their great deeds, heroes like Ajax, Mymonides, Prydian, Aurelius, Patricia of Lyros, and others became kings and queens of their cities and forged mighty kingdoms that spread throughout the Eastern Continents and even through some of the West. It was in the latter half of the First Age that the greatest of Human thinkers began to see magic not just as some terrifying power outside of themselves, but rather as a natural phenomenon that could be understood, grasped, tempered, and controlled. Many great mages delved deep into the secret mysteries of the arcane, the greatest of them putting aside their rivalries and combining their strengths to become the archmagi of the Circle of Eight. The Circle members helped define the boundaries of arcane knowledge, and founded colleges to teach future generations, some of which even survived the Cataclysm and exist in some form to this day. Many of the staple spells commonly learned by wizards still bear the names of the Circle members who first created them. The time of the Circle of Eight came to a tragic end due largely to the actions of a single man: a powerful and tyrannical human mage by the name of Vecna. Vecna - obsessed with avoiding his own mortality - violated the laws of Nature herself in a blasphemous ritual that transformed him into the first lich. Not satisfied with his new unlife, Vecna sought to go further. In a desperate bid for true immortality, Vecna sought to corrupt the life and magic of the world to his ends and use the very life force of Ulleria to transform himself into a god. The eight archmagi rose up against him in a terrible battle that shook the foundations of the world, and when the smoke cleared Vecna's body had been sundered and nearly obliterated, leaving only his right eye and left hand behind. Of the archmagi, only one remained; there was no trace of the other seven, and they are presumed to have died, or else been banished to some other plane from which they never returned. Mordenkainen, the only survivor, had his own powers greatly diminished by the ordeal, and spent the rest of his mortal life ensuring that Vecna could not rise again and no other mage would ever have the opportunity to try what he had tried. Though much knowledge about Vecna himself and the things he accomplished have been buried (largely by design) his legacy still heavily shapes magical ethics and defines where the boundaries of magical learning are and what is going too far. Many of the great lords and ladies of the Elven courts had begun to grow incredibly uneasy at the spread and advancement of humankind. Where in the early days of the age the Elves had seen Humans almost as little children that needed to be protected and nurtured, and had in many cases fought alongside them against great monsters and helped establish their early kingdoms, they had come to see Humanity's ambition as a threat to the natural balance of Ulleria that may one day turn on them. The rise of Vecna and the subsequent magical catastrophe that ensued only served to cement this belief in the eyes of the Elven nations, who proceeded to take up arms in an attempt to curb Humanity's rise. Terrible wars ensued across the continents between Humans and Elves, and had Humanity remained merely fractured kingdoms and city states the Elves may very well have succeeded in dominating them. However, a great figure arose among Humankind; a powerful king, hero, and general Marcus Aurelius Maximilian of Erlangen. Maximilian managed to unite the disparate peoples of the Eastern Continent under one banner, and struck back against the Elves. Legends say that he was struck down by an Elven lord in battle early on in the Elven wars, only to rise again from the dead as Saint Maximilian, further emboldening the armies under him. United in such a way, Humankind were unstoppable. The armies of Maximilian laid waste to the great forest kingdoms of the Elves and, to ensure human supremacy, burned down the great World Trees one by one, scattering their power and rendering the Elves themselves mortal beings. Their once-beautiful homes destroyed, most of the remaining Elves gathered together and marched directly toward Maximilian's army - who were encamped at a place called El'Adrel - believing that they would be utterly wiped out. To their surprise, Maximilian rode out by himself to parley with the remaining Elven leaders. He bewailed the destruction that these wars had brought upon the face of the world, and declared that he had no desire to completely destroy the Elven people. Instead, he offered to end the violence and give the Elven people a place of honor in a new, unified civilization. The Elven leaders accepted, and the Elven wars came to an end. Maximilian declared himself the first Emperor of Ulleria, and the First Age came to an end. The Fate of the Elves While the Elves gathered at El'Adrel were exasperatedly happy to end the war in peace, not all of them were quite so thrilled to be part of Maximilian's empire. Those who joined with Maximilian slowly integrated themselves into Human civilization and became what are now the High Elves, and due both to Maximilian's promise and their longer life spans were able to establish prominent families throughout the Human world. Of those who chose to accept peace but not civilzation, some retreated back into Ulleria's forests, relying on their inate and ancient - if somewhat weakened - connection to Nature, and became the Wood Elves. Still others forsook civilization but felt great pain and loss from the severing of their connection to the World Trees, and rather than return to the woods chose to become tribal nomads, wandering the hills, plains, and wild areas of Ulleria and became the Wild Elves. To his credit, Maximilian sanctioned these communities and allowed them to coexist peacefully, and future imperial administrations largely adopted policies respecting Wood and Wild Elves' independence. A fourth faction of Elves, however, seethed with burning rage and bitter hatred toward humanity, and even more toward their cowardly kin who refused to fight back against man to the bitter end! Knowing, however, that continuing to fight after their leaders' choice to stand down would be folly, these remaining Elves sought refuge deep beneath the ground where they might build up their strength and one day return and take their revenge. These Elves found their way through thin planar barriers into the World Below and became the Drow. The Second Age (by the Counting of Men) The Second Age, also frequently called the Imperial Age, spanned the 2,639-year period between the founding of the First Empire of Ulleria and the beginning of the Great Cataclysm. The Maximilian Dynasty - 2A 1 to 2A 683